I'll Be There
by Swagiana Grande
Summary: "Robbie... Can I trust you?" "Cat, you're my best friend. Of course you can trust me." She sighed once more before continuing. "Beck gave me this bruise... He hits me almost everyday." / What happens when an abusive Beck gets Cat pregnant? Will Robbie be able to step in and save the day? Or will it be too late? / Two-shot! Starts off Bat, ends with Cabbie. R&R please! xoxo
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello lovelies! I've had this idea in mind for a while now, and I just got to writing it today. Hope you enjoy, and please review! xoxo**

_Tick, tick, tick_ went the incessant drone of the clock. _Only five more minutes_, I thought to myself as I pretended to fill in my work sheet (although really I was just doodling Cat's name all over a piece of notebook paper). Man, I hated theater history. From the boring lectures that never seemed to end, to the 10-page reports that were assigned almost every week, to the ancient monologues that needed to be memorized and performed, only to be forgotten the next day, it was just too much. But none of those were what I despised most about this class.

What irritated me more than anything were the boyfriend and girlfriend who always sat in the back corner of the room, constantly sneaking kisses while the teacher wasn't looking, and passing notes to each other even when she was.

Maybe it wouldn't annoy me so much if it were just a random couple. But the fact that it was Beck and Cat made me absolutely furious.

When Cat started dating Beck, she changed. At first, it was slow and subtle. The color of her hair darkened a bit. She wasn't quite as giggly as she used to be. Her eyes wouldn't light up as much as they once did whenever you'd mention red velvet cupcakes. No one besides me really noticed these things.

But then it grew worse. One day, after school, we had all planned to head over to Tori's house for a movie night. But Cat couldn't make it because she had other plans. Turns out that those "other plans" were meeting with an interior designer to plan how to redecorate her bedroom. Her once bright pink and floral walls were now a dull blue, the neon printed pillows replaced with solid shades of black and white. To top it all off, every single one of her stuffed animals were gone. Even Mr. Longneck. Sure, it was a nice room for a normal teenage girl. But Cat wasn't normal. She was Cat, and I wouldn't have it any other way. This room didn't reflect her personality at all. Next went her colorful dresses, then her random stories about her brother, and before we knew it, Cat was a totally different person.

I wasn't as close to her as I used to be. That was another thing that this "new Cat" had left behind. Her friendships. Now all of her time was spent with Beck. And although he hadn't ever done anything directly to me, I knew that he was the one responsible for this transformation in Cat, and I hated him for it.

Suddenly, the bell signaling that 7th period was finally over interrupted my thoughts. Since theater history was my last class of the day, I headed to my locker to get my back pack before heading home. But when I turned around to begin my fairly long walk back to my house, I was shocked at who I saw standing in front of me. There stood Cat Valentine, looking up at me with her big brown eyes and smiling (something she did a lot less often now). After a few seconds, I was finally able to blurt out, "Uhhh, hey Cat. Ya need something?" Lame. But hey, this was the first time she'd talked to me in weeks. I was in shock.

"Hi Robbie," she replied. "I was just wondering if you could maybe help me with some homework. I've been failing math…" she said sadly.

That was yet another thing that had changed about Cat. Her grades. Contrary to what many people might believe, Cat was an A and B student, and not just in acting or vocal class. In fact, math was usually one of her best subjects, and to see her now failing was both confusing and saddening.

I didn't have to spend much time thinking about my answer though. "Of course I'll help you!" I quickly responded. "Do you wanna walk home with me?"

She nodded. "That sounds good. Are you ready to go?"

After shoving one more book into my back pack, I answered yes, and we were off.

It was a half hour walk to my house, and there wasn't really much to do but talk, so we did. Eventually the topic of Beck came up, and I asked as many questions as I could without being too nosy. "So… is he treating you right?" I inquired, genuinely concerned.

I think she could sense the worry in my voice, considering how quickly she answered. "Oh yeah, of course! He's great…" she trailed off awkwardly. I could tell that she didn't want to talk anymore, and because of that, the rest of the trip was silent.

We began our homework the minute that we got to my house. We were about five problems into Cat's assignment, when I noticed a large, purple, ugly-looking bruise on her wrist. My overprotective-ness went into overdrive, and I started interrogating Cat about how she got it. She went into a long story about how her brother and she had been playing football, and he had decided that it would be more fun to play with coconuts, and one had hit her, and although I was happy to hear a story about her brother again, I was reluctant to believe her. But, I tried to let it go.

Before I knew it, it was almost 9:00, and we had already completed both mine and Cat's homework, and watched a movie. It was a productive and fun night, although thoughts of how Cat had really gotten her bruise still lingered in my mind. I couldn't help but ask her again. "Cat…" she looked up at me. "Are you sure that's really how you got your bruise?"

The petite girl sitting beside me looked down for a minute, probably deciding whether or not she should tell me the truth. But after sighing, she began to speak. "Robbie… Can I trust you?" she asked me sincerely.

I was actually slightly insulted by that. Of course she could trust me! I'd been friends with her much longer than Beck had! How dare she even question my loyalty. But after I calmed down a bit, I replied, "Cat, you should be able to tell me anything. You're my best friend. Of course you can trust me."

She sighed once more before continuing. "Beck gave me this bruise… He hits me almost every day, Robbie." Tears were now welling up in her eyes, and if I didn't know any better, I would've sworn my heart had just shattered into a million pieces. How could you ever hit someone as innocent and precious as Cat!? I was ready to go beat Beck up right then and there. But Cat must have seen how angry I was, because she tugged on my arm and begged me to calm down. "It's not that big of a deal," she said softly, although the tears falling from her eyes told me otherwise.

I was at a loss for words. No wonder Cat had changed so much. She was depressed from all this abuse she had been going through. How was I supposed to explain to her that this wasn't okay? "Oh Cat… I'm so sorry." My voice was barely above a whisper, and I was trying to hold back tears myself. "But you need to dump his sorry ass. You deserve so much better."

The old Cat would have flinched at the curse word. But this Cat had had her innocence taken away by Beck. Something as simple as a swear word didn't even faze her.

The room was silent for a few moments, until I spoke up again. "Tomorrow, you're breaking up with him. I'll be right there with you. I'll make sure he never hurts you ever again," I said. And I sure as hell meant every word.

Cat leaned her head against my chest, and I stroked her hair lovingly. "You promise?" she whispered.

A small smile grew on my face. "I promise."

Too bad that promise was easier said than done.

**A/N Dun dun duuuuuun! LOL. Sorry it's so sad. The next chapter will be A LOT happier, I promise! :) Also, sorry for making Beck the bad guy. I have nothing against him, it's just that he seemed like the right character for this story. :P Pleeeease review! xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks for the reviews! :) In response to batzevieforever - Haha! I actually thought about that before I wrote this. Believe me, I understand how unrealistic it would be for Robbie to beat up Beck. That's why he has help. ;) So anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Review if you please! xoxo**

The next day was a Saturday. I should have been sleeping in, but Cat had called me a few minutes ago, crying. After all that had gone on the night before, I was still in overprotective mode, and this just made me worry even more. But Cat wanted to tell me what was going on in person. So here I was, at 7:39 am, in my beat up old car (that I really wished would drive faster), speeding my way to her house. Saying that I was concerned would have been the understatement of the century.

I didn't even wait for my car to come to a complete stop before jumping out of it and rushing to Cat's front door. Some might say I was overreacting, but I didn't think so. Cat was my everything (even if she didn't know it just yet), and I needed to protect her.

After I pounded on the door a few times, Cat finally answered. She opened the door shyly, almost as if she was afraid that I was going to hurt her. Her eyes were red and swollen, and even though there weren't tear drops falling from them anymore, you could tell that she had been crying. She obviously hadn't woken up too long ago, because she was still in her pajamas. "Come in…" she said quietly, her voice scratchy.

I slowly stepped into her house, closing the door behind me. Cat grabbed my hand and led me to her living room, where she sat down on the couch next to me. She looked so…broken.

I still didn't know what to say to her, so I waited for her to speak up. A few moments of silence passed by, until Cat eventually gained the courage to speak. "I was up really early this morning," she finally said, looking up at me sadly. "I didn't feel well," she continued. "My tummy really hurt, and I kept throwing up…"

I didn't like where this was going… "You're pregnant, aren't you?" I asked softly. Cat didn't answer me. Instead she just looked down, and I noticed a few tears drip down her arm and onto her pajama pants. I sighed, pulling her into my arms. "Shhhh," I whispered gently, trying to get her to calm down, as she was now loudly sobbing into my shirt. "It's going to be okay, Cat. We'll get through this. I'll help you take care of your baby. And she'll be beautiful, just like you. And we'll live happily ever after together," I said soothingly.

At my last word, Cat raised her head and looked up at me. "Together?" she whispered, her voice cracking.

I nodded in response. "I love you, Cat," I admitted. "I may not be handsome like Beck. I may not be rich like him. And I may not be quite as talented. But there's one thing that I can give you that Beck will never be able to. And that's respect. I swear, Cat, I would never hurt you. I'll always be there for you. No matter what."

A small smile grew on her face. "I love you too," she replied, and with that, she leaned in and kissed me. Once I got over the shock of suddenly feeling her lips against mine, I pulled her closer and started to kiss her back. But it was over all too soon, and Cat's facial expression grew grim again. "How am I supposed to tell Beck?" she asked with a sigh.

"You're not going to," I answered. The look on her face showed how confused she was, so I went on. "WE'RE going to tell him," I clarified.

She paused for a moment. "Are you sure?" she questioned.

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life. It's my job to protect you, and that's what I'm going to do," I replied confidently. "Now…you'd better text him and ask him to come over here. I think it's best that we just get this over with right now."

After clicking a few buttons on her phone, Cat looked back at me. "He's on his way."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Cat whimpered, but after I reassured her that everything would be fine, she stood up and walked with me to the front of her house. I took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_, I thought to myself, and swung the door open, to reveal a very confused and slightly angry-looking Beck. His eyes grew wide when he saw me. "What's HE doing here!?" he asked loudly, looking at Cat.

I was slightly shocked. I mean, of course Beck was abusive to her. But never around me! Now I was seriously worried. But I had to push my fear aside. For Cat. "Hey! Don't talk to her like that," I warned.

Beck was obviously just looking for a fight. He stepped closer to me. "And what are you gonna do about it?" he asked, looking directly into my eyes.

Before I had time to answer him, Cat stepped between us. "Boys, please calm down. Beck, I need to talk to you…" she trailed off.

Beck shoved me a little, then started to walk towards Cat's living room, where she and I had just been sitting. I followed, and when he noticed this he shot me a glare, then gave Cat a questioning look. "He's talking too…" Cat said softly. She was obviously very afraid of Beck, and I felt so sorry for her. Beck just rolled his eyes.

Cat and I plopped down on the love seat, while Beck sat in the chair across from us. "So, why did you want me to come over?" he asked, his tone of voice proving just how annoyed he was.

Cat sighed. "Beck… I'm pregnant," she finally blurted out, and the minute that she said the words, tears sprung to her eyes.

Beck's eyes tripled in size, and he stood up, clenching his fists. "You're WHAT!?" he yelled, getting too close to Cat for my comfort, so I stood up as well.

"She's pregnant," I repeated for her, a sudden burst of confidence rushing through me. But the next thing I knew, Beck's fist was colliding with my face, and there was blood running out of my nose.

Luckily, Cat was smart enough to crawl away out of Beck's reach…at least for now. I'm pretty sure he thought he knocked me out or something, because he started to stomp towards Cat. But I was able to stand up and punch him from behind, surprising him, and making him fall to the ground.

It wasn't long though before he got up and tackled me to the floor. I was in the most pain I'd ever felt, but I needed to keep fighting in order to protect Cat. Only one problem. Beck was now on top of me, his fist raised above my face. "Any last words, Shapiro?" he asked mockingly.

Just when I thought it was all over, Cat's brother came running down the steps. "CAAAAAAAAT! Can you help me find my – OH MY GOD!" he screamed, running towards Beck to try and get him off of me.

Beck attempted to fight back, but he was no match for Frankie, who soon had him pinned to the floor.

Just then, the cops (who apparently Cat had been calling while we were fighting) came running into the house. They carefully pulled Frankie off of Beck and then handcuffed the abusive boy. As they dragged him out to the police car, Cat explained to the officer what had happened and a nurse tended to my injuries.

I ended up having to go to the hospital, but I was okay. Just a few minor cuts and bruises that would eventually heal. Beck was sentenced to 2-3 years in prison, and had a restraining order from Cat filed against him. He never laid a hand on her ever again.

* * *

It had been 2 years since then. Cat and I had both graduated, bought an apartment to share, and were now attending UCLA together. We were set to get married over the summer, and neither of us could wait. Cat had her baby girl, Amanda Rose Shapiro, and they were both the loves of my life. Amanda was such a beautiful baby. She had Cat's large brown doe eyes and curly dark brown hair. Her smile could light up a room, and her giggle made everyone laugh along.

Amanda was currently asleep in her crib, and Cat was lying down in bed with me. "Robbie…" she whispered, making sure not to wake the baby.

I looked at her. "Yes, love?"

She smiled. "Thank you for staying with me. It would have been so easy for you to leave at any moment, but you didn't. Thank you for being there for me when I needed it most," she said softly.

"Oh Cat…" I planted a sweet kiss on her lips. "I'll always be there."

**A/N Sooo, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed this little two-shot. :) Oh, and thanks to Amanda for letting me steal her name! xP Lol. Please review and tell me if you liked it or not! xoxo**


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